The Downfall
by Jigglywigglypuff
Summary: Sequel to the Right of Passage. Zelda is haunted by Link's brief return and begins to question if sending him back was the correct decision. She will discover that her actions have dire consequences.


Author's Note: Hi everyone, I am back! If you remember, about 5 or 6 years ago I wrote a novel on here called The Right of Passage. This is a direct sequel to it. You may really need to read that one first if you want to truly understand this one and how it connects. This will not be nearly as long but a shorter novella, a total of 6 chapters is planned. I had this idea for a while now so I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading!

Chapter One

It is not the will of the goddesses to interfere with time.

I had made this mistake more than once, and yet while I believed I matured and learned from the grief that had struck my kingdom, I continued to be foolish with my powers. And each time I reasoned with myself regarding my decisions. That it was for the good of the kingdom, the good of mankind, for the good of a young man who sacrificed his childhood and life to save me and this forsaken land.

The first time I was only a young girl, stubborn and rash, and I single handed led my kingdom to despair, gracefully placed it into the clutches of the evil one. And yet, the entire time that I was making decisions that would lead to this ultimate grief, I believed wholeheartedly that I was saving my kingdom. My father would not address my concerns, and I could not watch the man with the evil eyes continue to manipulate him and all those around me.

Yet, only one would listen to me, and I ruined his life.

Because of me, many perished. I lost my father, my concubines. The inhabitants of my kingdom suffered fates worse than death. I watched in camouflage as my beautiful kingdom full of light dimmed, and turned into a cold, bitter darkness. Evil surrounded me, and I hid from it for many years, waiting for him to return. Him-the silly boy whose life I had ruined, and would continue to ruin until this evil would be conquered.

And when his destiny was fulfilled-when the evil one was relinquished and sealed in the Sacred Realm, I interfered with fate once more. I made another rash decision based on my emotions, on the overwhelming guilt I felt.

I was a young woman, though I may have been considered grown. Of seventeen years, but I was far too young still to fully comprehend the consequences of my actions. I must confess, this boy whose life I destroyed - the legendary hero of Hyrule, the one who conquered the evil and defeated the darkness.

Goddesses, I must confess, I had fallen in love with this boy.

So stupid and selfish and stubborn I was. And I can remember his face that day, moments before I made a decision the goddesses would not approve. He was dirty and bloodied, his tights ripped and exposing the peach skin of his knees, a small yet deep cut right above his left cheekbone. Strands of golden blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. Goddesses, his eyes...the solemn hues of blue which expressed his struggle, his yearning for a real answer to his existence. At that time, it was to serve me and his kingdom.

And I looked at him, tears swelling my own eyes. I wanted to hold him, to take him as my own, to feel his battered flesh against me. I could picture the life I would have created with him - marriage and beautiful children whilst we rebuilt this kingdom together.

And perhaps that fantasy I envisioned was the one the goddesses would have approved of. The life that I wanted with him must have been the fate that was meant to occur. However, with my youth and arrogance, I wanted to do what I thought was right. I had ruined this young man's life, and I had to set him free. It was my duty as his princess, as the new sole ruler of Hyrule. I had to make amends, I needed to give him back his life.

It is not the will of the goddesses to interfere with time...

I did not realize then the effect my recklessness would once again have, the greater turmoil and doom I had caused. While I erased him from my world, I sent him back to his. I had crossed the goddesses and used my powers as a god myself.

And once again, while I attempted to do good (as I had tried when I was a girl of ten years), I created a problem much bigger than myself. One that could not be fixed by me this time. One even the goddesses could not intervene and relinquish. When I sent him back to regain his lost years, I created a split in time myself. An alternate reality- no, not even alternate. It was very much real and coexisting with my own world.

And I will confess, it would not be the last time I would make this mistake and anger the goddesses. And the goddesses would not ignore such disobedience.

Fifteen years had passed since I sent him back. At this point I was fully grown, a queen to my kingdom, a wife and a mother. I was not supposed to be that naive young girl. But goddesses, it was that one fateful day where my life and fate would forever alter. It was the day I considered the best day and worst day of my life. It was also the day I began to lose my mind.

I saw him again. He came to me, in godly light, so young and fresh and beautiful. He came to me whilst I prayed in my private chambers. Before that moment, I was reserved, mature, focused on my kingdom and my family. But after that day, I became a woman mad with infatuation, obsessed with the past, filled with lunacy on how I could fix my mistakes. This time, however, not for the good of the kingdom. But for purely selfish, sinful desires.

I sound like a madwoman as I recollect the incident, the day he came to me. It could be construed as unbelievable but I remember touching him, his cheek silky against my fingers, his warm smell engulfing my nostrils. His name escaped my lips breathlessly.

"Link..."

It was real, so wonderfully, dreadfully, gloriously real. He had come before me somehow, had interfered with time himself, just to come back to me for a brief moment. I recall our short time together, as our mouths melted into one, while I tasted the tenderness of his lips, drank him in before he began to disintegrate and leave me once more in this bleak Link-less reality.

He assured me I had made the right choice by sending him back to his time. And while I had been so sure of it for fifteen years before that moment, I began to doubt myself. And that smidgen of doubt soon turned into horror of what I had done.

For fifteen years I had ruled and rebuilt my kingdom with dignity and class. While the memory of Link haunted me constantly, I never gave into those thoughts, never allowed myself to relish in his memory, to explore the possibilities of what could have been. I fought this for fifteen years. But after that day, all of my self control began to disintegrate until I eventually became a desperate sinful woman with an impossible infatuation.

It is not the will of the goddesses to interfere with time...I was so wrong to act as a god myself...


End file.
